Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: How long does a mortgage co have to take us to court over loss of mobile hom

Normally on a breach of contract supported by a written agreement the damaged party has 4 years to institute a lawsuit. However, I researched this several years a ago (like fourteen or fifteen). And at that time, just like real property, the lien holder on a mobile home was not permitted to seek a deficiency judgment after a foreclosure. So wait for some of the other attorneys that answer these questions to come back on line, and they should be able to answer your question. Creditors will turn these matters over to collection agencies, who are not going to quote you the correct law. So don't panic over what you're told over the phone. If no one else answers this question get back to me, and I'll research it again.

Re: How long does a mortgage co have to take us to court over loss of mobile hom

Generally, there is a 4 year statute of limitations regarding a contracts, so they could sue within 4 years.

A lot could depend on the basis on which the mobile home was returned to them. What kind of actions were taken, was there an agreement signed at the time, how much did they resell the mobile home for?

You may or may not have liability, but if you don't respond to them, they could get a default judgment that would be more costly to get undone.

Re: How long does a mortgage co have to take us to court over loss of mobile hom

I agree with both of the previous answers. The statute of limitations on a written contract such as a mortgage is four years. However, if the claim being pursued is by the same lender who foreclosed, and certain other conditions are met including that the mobile home was residential real property, you may have one or more defenses including the antideficiency statute (which says the lender must look only to the collateral and not the borrower's other assets) or the single-action rule (if there was a previous court action on the debt such as a judicial foreclosure as opposed to a trustee's sale).

The applicability of the defenses is technical and depends upon facts not given in your question. The best advice is not to panic but if you are ever served with papers such as a summons and complaint or some kind of lien or levy, get a lawyer as quickly as possible.

Re: How long does a mortgage co have to take us to court over loss of mobile hom

Generally a law suit on a breach of a written contract is 4 years from the date of the breach. If you have not been contacted to date of any potential action, I would not take any action yourself. If you have been contacted, our firm would be glad to provide you with free consultation. Please fax us to 714 363 0229, any documents or demand letters/contracts that you have.